Scientific Legitimacy of the Term "Anti-Aging"

A history of the future: the emergence of contemporary anti-ageing medicine

The emergence of anti-ageing medicine over the past 20 years has posed tremendous challenges for the understanding of ageing and the concomitant responsibilities of biomedicine. Though highly contentious and loosely organised at best, anti-ageing targets ageing for biomedical intervention. This article examines a history of anti-ageing in the United States from 1993 to 2008, outlining its evolution from a scientific 'backwater' to a field with such promise that many within and outside the field believe efficacious therapies are an inevitability. In large part, the language of anti-ageing has shifted from predictions to expectations; it has become less a question of 'if' and more a question of 'when' and 'how' this rhetorical shift is directly linked with increasing legitimacy constructed upon a complex web of factors including mounting practitioner involvement, research interest, media attention, and popular desire. In this article I briefly review this history alongside the strategic histories marshalled by the various proponents and opponents to support their claims of legitimacy. The history of anti-ageing medicine is one of an emerging scientific and clinical practice as well as a history of an idea that has very recently made its way out of science fiction and into science future.

Contentious terminology and complicated cartography of anti-aging medicine

Serving as an introduction to the cultural significance of the contemporary emergence of anti-aging medicine, this article outlines some of the distinctions and controversies regarding the usage of the term "anti-aging medicine." By sketching out the complex field of researchers, practitioners, organizations, companies it is clear that "anti-aging medicine" is a highly contentious term that means different things to different groups. Thus, analysis demands a keen attention to contextualizing its usage. However, despite the critically important distinctions in how "anti-aging medicine" is used and what it connotes both to the user and the audience, the core principle of anti-aging is the notion that aging can be targeted for biomedical intervention. It is the orientation toward this explicit goal that marks anti-aging medicine. While neither advocating for/against anti-aging medicine nor excavating the large body of biological literature, this ethnographically researched article explicates the cultural use of "anti-aging medicine" and maps out its main varieties, controversies, stakes, and challenges.

Anti-Aging Teleconference: What is Anti-Aging Medicine?

The concepts of "anti-aging" and "anti-aging medicine" in particular are hotly debated now, both in the mass media and among some researchers. This paper represents an open discussion of anti-aging terms and related ideas by nine leading experts in the field of aging studies, and it describes in detail the arguments presented by both supporters and opponents of these concepts. Candid exchange of opinions makes it clear that more efforts are required before a consensus on these issues can be reached. The paper also presents evidence that the term "anti-aging" is routinely used now in scientific literature as a legitimate scientific term, including even the titles of publications in reputable scientific journals, written by established researchers.